So, I've really been trying to work on strengthening and defining my legs, without too much success. My upper body has gained a LOT of muscle and definition, and, I dare say, I'm getting pretty "buff." Even my abs, under the last little layer of fat (and, sadly, loose skin) are getting pretty darned muscular and solid.

But I just cannot for the life of me seem to gain the same definition and bulk in my lower body. I've been trying to go back to basics with my lifting (squats on the smith machine instead of the press machine/extensions machine, etc.) with the thought being that involving my stabilizer muscles might help me focus on the legs more. However, now I'm at a place where I'm stuck -- I'm at just over 200 lbs on the bar when I'm doing squats; that's as much as I currently feel safe doing without a spotter. I don't want to wreck my back or my knees. And it's close to my current limit. But I don't feel like I'm really GAINING that much doing that weight; yes, the reps are hard and I'm huffing and puffing once I do 3 sets of 8 squats w/200, but I don't feel that wobbly legged "burn" that I can get in my other muscle groups. For instance, tonight I also did military presses and rear delt flies, and I can STILL feel it in my deltoids, but my legs aren't even sore!

One more thing to throw into the mix; I've been starting some beginning yoga classes to try to improve my flexibility and balance (and tone my stabilizer muscles and core even more) and I've noticed that when I'm holding a leg-centric pose (say, warrior pose) for a long time, my legs get really wobbly and tired. I'm not sure what this means; maybe I'm lifting wrong, and my legs are still pretty weak?

Any advice would be appreciated. My legs are pretty muscular, it's just that compared to the rest of my body they're not in balance, and since I've lost so much fat I'm hoping to beef up my quads and butt to fill out some loose skin!

I read the title of this post and just had to laugh to myself....I have NEVER and WILL never, ever even come close to thinking that thought!! hahaha....I can see how a guy might say that though... Just had to share my amusement Good luck with that Ouroborous! Go get em!

I read the title of this post and just had to laugh to myself....I have NEVER and WILL never, ever even come close to thinking that thought!! hahaha....I can see how a guy might say that though... Just had to share my amusement Good luck with that Ouroborous! Go get em!

Oh no doubt, a lot of women seem to carry weight in their hips and thighs and caboose. But here's the unpleasant little secret; once we drop that fat, we're all in danger of becoming 'saggy butts' or 'no butts' (more common for men, but still). For men, working on your butt and legs gives you that powerful lower body look, with thick, strong legs and a tight, firm butt (jeez, I sound like a porno advertisement here, but you know what I mean!) For women, y'all just don't bulk up as much (sorry, ladies who claim you do, but you don't -- unless you have abnormally high testosterone, you're simply NOT at risk of "bulking up") -- instead, muscular butt and thighs produces that classic "hourglass" shape, but instead of being based upon fat deposits, it's based upon strong, lean muscle. And it looks amazing

Oh no doubt, a lot of women seem to carry weight in their hips and thighs and caboose. But here's the unpleasant little secret; once we drop that fat, we're all in danger of becoming 'saggy butts' or 'no butts' (more common for men, but still). For men, working on your butt and legs gives you that powerful lower body look, with thick, strong legs and a tight, firm butt (jeez, I sound like a porno advertisement here, but you know what I mean!) For women, y'all just don't bulk up as much (sorry, ladies who claim you do, but you don't -- unless you have abnormally high testosterone, you're simply NOT at risk of "bulking up") -- instead, muscular butt and thighs produces that classic "hourglass" shape, but instead of being based upon fat deposits, it's based upon strong, lean muscle. And it looks amazing

That's funny you mention "saggy butt." I told my husband the other day "hey honey...grab my butt with both hands and give it a good shake! IT'S LOOSER!! And emptier!" We had a good laugh, but I can see the need for getting the toning up started as soon as i'm clear for full activity. OYE! This is going to be a looooong road!!

Actually I need to beef up my thighs butt and arms badly. Once you lose all your weight all you have left is skin, empty skin.

Indeed! And even though I've lost a humongous amount of fat, I want to look GOOD, not just like a deflated balloon! Some of that loose skin isn't going to go away without yet ANOTHER visit to the good doctor (sigh... tummy tuck) but with work you can "fill out" most of the other problem areas.

Just another note on this topic: the combination of lunges every morning plus leg-intensive cardio every morning is already making a noticeable difference. I still do leg work at the gym (although I've switched from smith machine squats to the leg press machine).

I'm discovering that for me, high rep count is arguably more important than big weights; I just don't get that wobbly-legged burn with low rep, high weights exercises, and I don't bulk up/tone up without the burn.

I'm starting to think that a lot of the "accepted gospel" of weightlifting (go heavy or go home, etc.) is just a fairy tale. I think I'll look for some sports medicine research instead of relying upon what "everybody knows" (which is almost always wrong).

Maybe Pilates will help cuz it kicked my but..Soar but love being soar..boot camp also helped...

I know some of this skin isn't going away I'm on month 7..and feel like I'm never loosing this skin around waste...Have u priced tummy tucks...